Leukemia Rates by Race and Ethnicity

Incidence Rates by Race/Ethnicity and Sex

"Incidence rate" means how many people out of a given number get the disease each year. The graph below shows how many people out of 100,000 got leukemia each year during the years 1999–2007. The year 2007 is the most recent year for which numbers have been reported. The leukemia incidence rate is grouped by race and ethnicity.

For example, you can see that white people had the highest incidence rate for leukemia. Black and Hispanic people had the next highest rate of getting leukemia, followed by Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian/Alaska Native people.

Leukemia
Incidence Rates* by Race/Ethnicity and Sex, U.S., 1999–2007

Incidence source: Combined data from the National Program of Cancer Registries as submitted to CDC and from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results program as submitted to the National Cancer Institute in November 2009.
*Rates are per 100,000 persons and are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population (19 age groups – Census P25-1130). Incidence rates cover approximately 89% of the U.S. population.
^†Hispanic origin is not mutually exclusive from race categories (white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native).

Death Rates by Race/Ethnicity and Sex

From 1999–2007, the rate of people dying from leukemia has varied, depending on their race and ethnicity. The graph below shows that in 2007, white people were more likely to die of leukemia than any other group. Black people had the second highest rate of deaths from leukemia, followed by people who are Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native.

Leukemia
Death Rates* by Race/Ethnicity and Sex, U.S., 1999–2007

Mortality source: U.S. Mortality Files, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC.
*Rates are per 100,000 persons and are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population (19 age groups – Census P25-1130). Death rates cover 100% of the U.S. population.
^†Hispanic origin is not mutually exclusive from race categories (white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native).